US HRC: Prices rise slower as mills pause

: Metals
22/03/29

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices continued to increase in the last week but at slower rates than previously, as some mills took a pause in price increases as they reviewed their raw material costs.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC Midwest assessment rose by $50/short ton to $1,452/st, the smallest increase in the last four weeks. The southern HRC assessment rose by $38/st to $1,440/st.

The Midwest price was up by 42pc since hitting a low of $1,022.50/st on 1 March.

HRC lead times in the Midwest slipped to 5-6 weeks from 6-7 weeks, as most mills were still waiting to open up their May books.

HRC was offered at between $1,400-1,500/st.

Raw material price expectations continued to weigh on the market, with many believing that prime scrap will increase by more than $100/gross ton (gt) in the April trade, which could begin next week. Some expect of price increases of $150-200/gt.

The April scrap trade is expected to be more straightforward than March, when many steel mills were caught flat footed by rapidly rising prices that ended up increasing #1 busheling by $175-190/gt.

HRC import prices into Houston were flat at $1,250/st ddp on no new offers.

The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices rose by 6.3pc to $843/st. A year ago the spread was $800/st.

The spread between pig iron cfr New Orleans and Midwest and southern HRC prices rose by 8.2pc compared to the prior week to $536/st.

The Argus weekly domestic US cold-rolled coil (CRC) assessment rose by $50/st to $1,850/st, while the hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) assessment jumped increased by $28/st to $1,848/st.

Mill offers were reported between $1,800-1,900/st.

Lead times for CRC widened to 6-8 weeks from 6-7 weeks while HDG lead times rose to 7-8 weeks from 6-7 weeks.

The CME HRC Midwest futures market moved down in the last week after multiple weeks of increases. May futures pricing fell by $50/st to $1,570/st compared to the last week, while June pricing was down by $39/st to $1,561/st. July future pricing declined by $26/st to $1,535/st, while August futures fell by $28/st to $1,495/st. September futures also moved down by $25/st to $1,480/st, while October futures are at $1,435/st.

Plate

The Argus weekly domestic US ex-works plate assessment rose by $26/st to $1,881/st on an increase from integrated steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs. Other steelmakers like Nucor were expected to increase prices in the coming week. The plate delivered assessment increased by $20/st to $1,920/st. Lead times were flat at 6 weeks.

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24/12/20

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Viewpoint: PGM demand from hydrogen sector to rise

24/12/20

Viewpoint: PGM demand from hydrogen sector to rise

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US Congress passes waterways bill

24/12/19

US Congress passes waterways bill

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Q&A: Xcelsior aims to derisk minor metals investment

24/12/19

Q&A: Xcelsior aims to derisk minor metals investment

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EU HRC imports drop a quarter on safeguards, AD probe

24/12/19

EU HRC imports drop a quarter on safeguards, AD probe

London, 19 December (Argus) — EU hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports have dropped by 24pc year on year in October, as a result of the safeguards changes introduced earlier in the year and the anti-dumping (AD) probe on key suppliers launched in August. Volumes amounted to 1.16mn t. The drop was underpinned by sharp declines from Japan, Egypt, Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea. Meanwhile, other countries stepped in to fill the supply gap, such as Turkey, Ukraine and Serbia — deemed less risky for buyers, with all ramping up their volumes year on year by 292pc, 69.5pc and 172.8pc, respectively. Turkey was the top supplier with 222,760t in October. Imports from Indonesia also notably increased, by 41.5pc on the year to 29,140t. This volume will be likely to grow over November-March, but the country is expected to no longer be exempt from the safeguard measures from April onwards, market participants said. The European Commission this week launched an early review of the tariff-rate quotas, with changes, including on the developing countries list, to be introduced from April. Import supply is likely to drop further over the rest of the year, and into the first quarter, with January the last month in which residual larger volumes from countries under investigation can be custom cleared. Sales from Japan, Egypt, Vietnam and India, all under the scope of the AD probe , have mostly stopped over the current quarter. Cold-rolled coil (CRC) imports are meanwhile on the rise, with 281,336t clearing in October, up by 33.4pc on the year and 53.5pc on the month. Taiwan was the top supplier with 64,208t, followed by Turkey and India with just over 40,000t each. The increase in Taiwanese imports, which are expected to rise further, have fuelled talks in the market of a potential AD investigation. Similarly, hot-dipped galvanised (HDG) imports rose by 60.1pc on the year to 802,688t, of which 270,226t was from Vietnam, representing a 279.1pc increase year on year. Market participants have expected a probe on Vietnamese HDG for a while, but following the safeguards review launch said that a reduction in quota volumes might hit downstream products such as HDG and CRC in particular. Plate imports have also nudged up, but more modestly, by 6.9pc on the year in October to 222,133t. Rebar and wire rod arrivals were up by 170.6pc and 46.5pc on the year, respectively. By Lora Stoyanova EU HRC imports t Oct-24 ±% Oct-23 Total 1,164,750 -24 Turkey 222,760 292 Japan 164,691 -38.2 Egypt 148,979 -19.7 Vietnam 144,512 -54.7 Taiwan 127,350 -54.5 Ukraine 103,003 69.5 South Korea 90,674 -45.9 Serbia 55,372 172.8 Australia 30,690 -62.4 Indonesia 29,140 41.5 — GTT Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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